2 months and the revisión

On Sunday, Eric had his 2nd "cumplemés." It was followed by his 2 month checkup on Monday. I have to say that I thought that all of the annoying weight controls were over now that Eric seems to be growing well, but I was wrong. I got to the medical center, and after the common wait of over an hour (Can't they be a little bit closer to schedule with kids and babies?!?!?), I finally was called in (As an aside, I really wanted to take a picture of the sign that says that the appointment times are only orientative, and to be patient). The monthly checkups are held in a different place, where they also have a nurse that does the vaccinations. Anyways, we started out with the weight and height and head circumference measurements. Eric now weighs 4.25 kg, and is 57cm tall. I was thinking to myself, wow, he has really grown because I had read that a normal growth was around and inch a month, so I figured anything over 55cm was good. Then came the weight. I remembered that a couple of weeks ago, he weighed about 3.7 kg, so I had really been expecting him to weigh more or less what he weighed now, but the doctor started to make a big deal about his weight again, and said he is only barely fitting into what is acceptable, and that we should start to think about supplementing him with formula! (What?!?!) I kept trying to ask how much he was gaining, but she kept avoiding the question, and kept showing me how he was on the lower end of the weight spectrum on a graph that shows a comaprison of normal weights with age. She finally told me that he had gained "only" about 170g per week since the last visit, and that worried her because the last time he had gained about 210g in a week. He is also quite tall for his weight. (So what?? In a year or so, they'll probably want that).
I thought back to my last visit, and remembered how she told me that normal weight gain was 150-200g per week. So, why, with 170g being right about in the middle, does it seem necessary to add formula to the mix, when Eric is otherwise healthy and happy and growing well? What really annoyed me, though, was how she told the nurse that I was "una de esas" (of of those) that was very stubborn about exclusively breastfeeding. (Since when did that become a bad thing???) She told me that I needed to come back in 2 days and again in another week (always an hour plus wait, even just to weigh him) to weigh him there on their scale, and see if we should start giving him a bottle. She told me to feed him more often and to never let more than 2 hours go by without a feeding. (That seemed a bit excessive to me
to now that he's sleeping more hours during the night. She still wants me to wake him to feed.)
Honestly, in my mind, I didn't think there was a problem. If there was, though, I didn't think it was about how often he feeds, because he does feed often. So, I asked about the amount he spits up as it does seem excessive at times. She blew me off a bit, but I pressed at it after the whole weight ordeal. So, she told me that if I wanted, she could refer me to a digestive specialist just to have a consult if it made me feel better. So, I agreed. She stepped out, and left me with the nurse, and Eric sprayed their entire floor with a good stream of urine :), but they punished him with 2 big shots filled with a plethera of vaccines that took him from smiling to screaming in a matter of seconds! :( Poor little Eric!!
I know this is a heated debate right now, and I'm not Jenny McCarthy, but I have a hard time understanding why they throw a hep. B vaccine into the mix for a little baby. Hep. B just doesn't seem like a high risk disease for a baby, and from what I've seen, the vaccine just doesn't offer long term immunity (like more than 4-5 years for around half of those vaccinated) if they're trying to get a head start for later on in life. To me, the logic of risking throwing multiple vaccines into a mix for a little baby should only involve trying to immunize against diseases that are likely to affect them. (Although, I can even better understand the polio vaccine than the hep b one).
Of course, nobody ever asked me anything or told me what they were doing or going to inject. Out came the needle, and I was unaware of what had been given until after the fact. That is very common here. I remember being handed pills in the hospital, being told to take this or that, without having any idea of what it was. Nobody ever told me what I could or could not eat with the pills, side effects, etc. (I found out later that one has a serious reaction with grapefruit. Good thing I didn't eat any while there!!!) It seemed pretty crazy to me. I guess it's just one of the quirks of a public health system. (Do what you're told and shut your mouth!)
Anyways, it turns out he was vaccinated for Hep B (again!), diptheria, polio, Haemophilus influenzae b, and meningococ c. I also found it interesting that the varicella vaccine is now on the list, I guess for later on as no schedule is given,... hmmm I thought chicken pox was still common around here.
The doctor came back, and told me to finish dressing the now screaming Eric, and to head to her office. (On my way there, I noticed that the girl who was waiting in the hall with me, who had been promised 2 hours ago that she would be seen "right away" was still there.) I was handed a prescription for apiretal (actually acetaminophen for babies)that I was supposed to give Eric if the vaccines gave him a fever. She gave me a paper, along with the graphs showing Eric's "minimal growth," and told me to take them to "urgencias" and that they would send someone to take a look at him.
I headed to "urgencias" at the med center, and the guy there didn't understand what I wanted. I told him the doctor had told me to bring the paper there, and that they would send a doctor to see me. He said, but didn't you just see the doctor?? Yes, but she sent me here. He started to read the paper, which said in small print at the bottom that I had been referred to the hospital... Oh, you need to go to the hospital. Oh, sorry, she never said that... only urgencias...
So,I headed towards the hospital, a bit annoyed by then.
No parking, of course, so I headed to the pay lot, which, ironically has the er (urgencias) as the furthest place away. I finally get there, and hand them the paperwork, and, surprisingly, after being given a little hospital bracelet for Eric to wear, was immediately sent to the pediatric ward. There, I was sent to their own private waiting room, where I ran into the family of one of the men who works on Mauri's boat. One of his sons had had a baby who was now 1 month old. I didn't know about it. Talking to them for awhile in the hallway, I never made it to the waiting room, and was pretty quickly called to an exam room. I was initially questioned by a girl(a nurse?) who couldn't believe that it stated that Eric had minimal growth. She was telling me that the boy she had just seen had gained about the same amount as Eric since Oct. 4th as he had since between the 22nd and 29th of October, and that that baby was just fine too.
It took awhile for the actual doctor to get there, so I took advantage of the time and fed poor little Eric who still seemed upset about his shots. The doctor came and asked about the problem. He said that spitting up this much is more common in babies who do eat a lot. He asked about dirty and wet diapers, feeding habits, etc., and determined that Eric was doing just fine. He looked at the growth pattern, and said "this baby has grown 800g in the last month," "es una barbaridad!" "What more do they want!?!?!" He's also grown 7cm in 2 months another "barbaridad"! So, yes, he agreed that the first couple of weeks Eric wasn't growing that much, but when I told him how I was still in the hospital with the infection, he thought that made sense. He said that the growth for the last month was great, and couldn't understand why Eric's doctor would even consider suggesting supplementation with formula.
This doctor was great and spent quite a bit of time with us addressing all of my concerns, despite the fact that he didn't see anything wrong with Eric. He told me to consult the websites of the hospital and "la Leche League," when in doubt, and I told him that I already had and that that is why I also couldn't understand Eric's doctor. He told me not to weigh Eric so often because at his weight so much affects everything- if he's just eaten, if he just had a dirty or wet diaper, etc. I told him that I had thought the same thing, and actually weighed a clean diaper and a typical wet one and found 90g difference. That makes a huge difference in the weight of a little baby!! He agreed and told me not to go back and weigh him until at least 2 weeks had passed. :) I hadn't been looking forward to that anyways, and couldn't find an appointment anyways, and didn't want to end up like the woman who had been waiting with me for the doctor for more than 2 hours because the doctor hadn't given her an official appointment either. So, I'll probably just make an apointment with her for 2 weeks from now, and tell her what I was told. I think the hospital pediatrician was a little annoyed, and wrote in the observations that Eric had excellent growth in the last month and that I should not weigh him until at least another 2 weeks had passed. He told me that she must be from the new generation of doctors that doesn't trust breastmilk, and thinks that something is wrong with it, when there isn't.
So, that was that. I told my friend, Maite, about the experience, and it turns out that this doctor is supposedly "the best of the best." He at least used to be the head of the pediatric ward in the old hospital (and might be at the new hospital?). That made me feel even better.
What annoys me most again, though, is that everyone seems to think that I need a private doctor again for Eric. I needed one during the pregnancy because the public system isn't good enough, and now I need one again?!?!? What's the point of the public system if nobody trusts it, and everybody gets private doctors anyways. Supposedly "everybody" has private pediatricians along with their public assigned doctor. Sadly, I was supposedly "lucky" to have been able to switch to the doctor that Eric has now!! The others are supposed to be horrible. Still, while she is nice enough, she doesn't really address my concerns enough for me, and seems a little too obsessed with getting my baby fat... and giving him a bottle to do just that.
So, I'm a bit annoyed still.

Already a bit annoyed, we turned on the tv to wind down at night, and I see that some stupid actor decided to make the rest of us Americans look like we are arrogant, whiny losers with no sense of humor! We were watching El Hormiguero, the Spanish, crazy version of the tonight show, I guess. I actually quite like it, and it is a show where they do all sorts of crazy activities with all of their guests. It turns out, though, that stupid Jesse Eisenberg was whining to Conan about how the show is set up to humiliate Americans because Spanish people are jealous/mad at them for not learning enough Spanish!??!? Say what!?!?! (and ended his rant by saying they should be thankful for how we helped them in the second world war?!?!?!)
First of all, all of the guests are treated the same, Spanish and Americans and others.
Second, I saw the show he was on and remember how uncomfortable it was because Justin Timberlake, who I otherwise detest, was the only one of the 3 actors together (from the fb movie) that even attempted to have fun and play along. This stupid Jesse guy was obviously set on making it obvious that he hated being there, making the show a disaster. Why even bother going from country to country to promote your films if you're just going to behave like an arrogant little prick?!?!
Sorry, way off topic, but I was already annoyed, and it just hit me at the wrong time. Anyways, this is what I saw last night that set me off. I think Pablo Motos was more than nice in his response. I personally, though, hope they never invite that loser back to the show!!
El Hormiguero: Pablo Motos contesta a Jesse Eisenberg y reta a Conan O'Brien
What's really great is the comments... since Jesse decided to make this into a Spaniards vs. Americans issue, he tried to make us all look as stupid as he is, and so the comments are about how arrogant and ignorant Americans all are. Thanks, Jesse!